Find more recent posts on Sleep News at SleepApnea.org

Thursday, March 24, 2016

New conversation with Darrel Drobnich, President of the American
Sleep Apnea Association, about his history with sleep health advocacy,
his motivation for the greater good, his work at the American Sleep
Apnea Association, and partnering with IBM to release a sleep study on
Apple’s ResearchKit platform.

Learn more about the American Sleep Apnea Association at sleepapnea.org, and the

Friday, March 18, 2016

Remember to complete your SleepHealth surveys. Each one is extremely important and will only take a couple minutes.

The more information you provide, the more we will be able to share back with you and the more you will help our research.

Are You a Healthy Sleeper?

Diet and exercise are part of a healthy lifestyle. So is sleep. The problem is, too many people think that sleep is something they can give up to get more things done.As many as 70 million adults may be putting themselves at risk for injury, health and emotional problems because they aren’t getting the sleep they need.

They are more likely to feel tired and lack energy, have memory and concentration difficulties, and become irritable in stressful situations. They also may be increasing theirrisk for high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, depression

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Difficulty falling or staying
asleep is a common problem.These
woes—called insomnia—have far-reaching effects including a negative impact on
concentration, productivity and mood.Occasional
insomnia is experienced by more than a third of American adults, and chronic
insomnia is known to affect more than one in ten.Insomnia is characterized by one or more of
the following sleep complaints:

·Difficulty falling asleep

·Difficulty staying asleep

·Waking too early in the morning

·Experiencing non-restorative sleep

Research confirms that people with
insomnia have poorer overall health, greater work absenteeism, lower job
performance, more negative moods and greater use of healthcare services.People with chronic insomnia also report a
higher rate of on-the-job accidents and using more disability days per month
compared to other workers.

Types of Insomnia

·Acute
insomnia—sleep disturbances a few nights per week that can last for up to one
month due to a temporary situation such as stress, jet lag, grieving, job loss or
relationship change.

·Chronic
insomnia—sleep disturbances that occur an average of three nights per week and
last more than one month.

·Primary
insomnia—chronic sleep disturbances after underlying conditions are ruled out
or treated.

Why Treat Insomnia?

Insomnia
is a risk factor for the onset of depression and can significantly affect your
quality of life. Consequences of not getting enough good sleep can include
daytime sleepiness, impaired mood, depression, psychological distress, decreased
ability to concentrate, difficulty solving problems and making decisions, as
well as having an increased risk for injury, driving drowsy, and illness.

Insomnia
can often be traced to an underlying cause; therefore, it is critical to
identify and treat this problem.Problems
or conditions that can lead to insomnia are:

·A
life crisis or stress

·Environmental
noise

·Side
effects of medicine

·Depression

·Chronic
illness

·Jet
lag

Diagnosis & Treatment

The first
step in the treatment of any sleep disorder is to consult your doctor.Also, consider keeping a sleep diary for one
or two weeks to record your sleep and health habits.Share your sleep diary with your doctor to help
them identify any sleep problems you may have and determine appropriate
treatment options.Most sleep disorders
can be successfully diagnosed and treated.Proper treatment can lead to a good sleep and improve your overall
health, safety and well-being.

Update from The SleepHealth Study Team

The whole team wants to
thank you once again for being part of this historic endeavor and helping us
improve the first patient-led sleep health study ever conducted.

It's been an incredible week
and it represents a year's worth of work by a small dedicated group of
volunteers trying to change how research and engagement is done.

The most important part of
this study is completing your surveys and doing the 7-Day SleepHealth Activities
every 3 months. The more you participate, the more information you get
back on your personal dashboard and the more data we have to seek new
treatments, interventions, and cures.

We know that some have
reported minor problems and we are working hard to address them. Please stick with it and tell your friends.
The app if free to anyone over 18, whether or not they have sleep problems or
health issues. Use it just like you would a pedometer or calorie counter
to improve your health.

We want to hear about any
issues you have or suggestions and ideas for new features, functionality,
survey questions, or research topics. We will be adding new surveys in
the near future, Please join us in our
SleepHealth community forum at http://talk.sleeptember.org/.

The SleepHealth App
and study is being conducted by the American Sleep Apnea Association, a
25-year-old and patient-led non-profit based in Washington, DC. It was conceived, designed and
funded solely through the contributions of a small all-patient team of
scientists, physicians, advocates and technology experts dedicated to health
and data discovery in order to accelerate patient-centered and citizen research.

All data is de-identified
and no one from outside the study team has access to your personal information ever. We
worked with IBM on the development of Watson for ResearchKit and will be using
Watson’s sophisticated analytic capabilities to give us and other researchers
tremendous possibilities in seeking new discoveries using a tremendous amount
of data.

Additionally, the
Sleephealth app currently does not have the ability to track sleep from the iPhone
or Watch as reported by some media outlets. Sleep data is collected by
self-report only at this time. There are other capabilities available in the
Watch and many more functions that we have planned

that will be incorporated in
later versions.

This
is a whole new way to do research and there will be some trail and error, but
with platforms like Apple ResearchKit and IBM’s Watson Health, we can
literally put a laboratory in everyone’s pocket.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

The second generation Apple Watch has been in the rumor mill for
quite some time now, with mixed speculations as to whether the company
will release it this month or sometime this year.

Apple will be having an event on Mar. 15, where it is speculated to
announce some new gadgets including a 4-inch version of the iPhone
called iPhone 5se, an iPad that is rumored to be either the follow up of
the iPad Air or iPad Pro line, and the 2016 line of MacBook. Some are
also speculating that the Apple Watch 2 will be announced on the same
date.

How Much Sleep is
Enough?

Every person is unique and so is our need for sleep.But in today’s busy world, how much sleep
should you be getting each night?

Research suggests that most healthy adults need seven to
nine hours of sleep each night.Children
and adolescents need even more sleep than adults.The following is a breakdown of the
recommended number of hours of sleep people need by age (*including naps):

As we age, our bodies go through many changes.It may be necessary to have eyeglasses for
reading; hearing may not be as sharp as it once was; and muscles can ache like
never before.Many people also
experience changes in sleep, though the need for sleep does not change with
age.However, a good night’s rest may
become more difficult as we grow older due to lifestyle changes, chronic
medical conditions or untreated sleep disorders.

So, how do you measure how much sleep you truly need?If you have trouble staying alert during
boring meetings, long drives, while reading a book or in other quiet situations
when sleepiness is often "unmasked” you probably aren't getting enough
quality sleep.Other signs of chronic
sleep deprivation are irritability, difficulty concentrating or making
decision, loss of short-term memory or becoming overly aggressive.

Most sleep problems are treatable.If you have trouble getting the zzzs you
need, be sure to see your doctor or other health professional.

The American Sleep Apnea Association joins the Sleep Journal as a contributor

People for Quality Care is pleased to welcome a new contributor to the Sleep Journal - the American Sleep Apnea Association
(ASAA). The ASAA is one of the nation’s leading organizations in
promoting quality sleep and supporting those with sleep disorders. The
organization’s vast knowledge of sleep coupled with their passion for
service will undeniably amplify the blog’s capability to provide more
information for those interested in sleep as a matter of health, science
and career. (If that’s you, subscribe here)

American Sleep Apnea Association: Enhancing the lives of those with sleep apneaOver the coming months and years, I will share with you my
perspective and views on current developments related to sleep health,
sleep disorders, public health and other things that may be of interest
to you.

Darrel Drobnich

As someone that has been involved national research, advocacy and
public education programs related to sleep health for 20 years, I have a
deep understanding of the sleep community and what is needed to propel
sleep medicine into the mainstream of public health and safety. I am
the son and father of people with sleep apnea and have been a strong
patient advocate in both my personal and professional life while working
at the National Sleep Foundation and now as president of the American
Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA).

The ASAA is in a unique position to advocate
for patients and caregivers and empower them to have a greater say in
their treatment and in directing future research on new treatments and
cures.

The best thing that the ASAA has ever done was to remove
physicians from its board two years ago and become a truly patient-led
advocacy organization. This removes the inherent conflicts that exist
in the professional sleep medicine field and allows us to advocate for
what’s best for patients without barriers.

The modern day healthcare system requires patients to be their
own best advocates as they navigate diagnosis, treatment options and
insurance payments. The ASAA believes that patients should also be at
the table when companies develop new products, professional groups
develop new guidelines, and researchers develop research grants and
programs. This is all necessary because in our view, the sleep medicine
field has failed us in many ways. Much more needs to be done to
identify patients with sleep disorders, especially sleep apnea, and get
them properly treated and on the road to better health. We have heard
for 30 years or more that 80% of people with obstructive sleep apnea are still undiagnosed and untreated. For those that are diagnosed, only 50% stick with CPAP for the first year or so.
Those numbers have to increase greatly beyond a year or two, but no one
really knows because sleep centers don’t follow up with those patients
that drop out of the system.

However, we strongly believe that these people are still in the
healthcare system, but identified as patients with heart disease,
diabetes, hypertension, depression, or stroke. That’s if they are lucky
enough not to die in a fall asleep automobile crash or of a heart
attack. These all have to be recognized as great failures in promoting
public health and safety. It’s up to patients to direct their own
destiny through directing advocacy, education and funding our own
research programs.

The ASAA has put a wonderful team of people that have been
successful in business, startup ventures, medical practices, research
programs and advocacy that are working together to expand our national
programs and empowering patients. Simply put, this is not the same old ASAA. We want to be the true voice of patients and stakeholders.We don’t see ourselves as a sleep organization, but a public
health organization with something to prove. We will expand our focus
to beyond sleep apnea to include insomnia and other sleep health issues
as well and work with partners to connect the dots between sleep and
other comorbid health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, mental
health, pediatric health among other things.

We want to build an army of patients, caregivers, physicians,
researchers, and volunteers that want to advocate for greater
recognition of sleep as a healthy behavior, diagnosis and treatment of
sleep disorders and the mitigation of the consequences of sleep loss in
the workplace, classroom and on the highway.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Welcome to the SleepHealth Mobile App Study

The SleepHealth Study Team is interested in your
feedback, thoughts and suggestions on how we improve the app for version
2. Unlike other studies you can talk directly to the study team here.

What do you like? What don't you like? What features would you like to see? What survey questions would like to see added? We invite you to join us and other users in our Community Forum to talk directly to the study team and get help with any sleep issues that you may have. http://ow.ly/Z3nnf